Ryuji Kubota
*13 October 1965
Works by Ryuji Kubota
Biography
Ryuji Kubota, born in Tokyo on October 13, 1965, is a self-taught composer. He studied Japanese contemporary literature at Hosei University (B.A.) His competition honors include the 3rd prize in the 2001 Toru Takemitsu Composition Award (given by the judge Oliver Knussen) with "Stein/Stern" for orchestra, and the 3rd prize in the 2013 Karol Szymanowski International Composers Competition in Katowice, Poland with "Stein/Stern II" for orchestra, and 2nd Prize of International composers competition "Musica Per Archi" 2024 in Lviv Ukraine with " Leuchtsaat" for piano and string orchestra. And his orchestral pieces performed in International Composition Competition Alfred Schnittke 2018 at Lviv, Ukraine ("Stein/Stern III" for piano, percussions and string orchestra) and Sofia Symphonic Summit 2022 at Sofia, Bulgaria ("Farbenlehre" for orchestra). Some his chamber pieces were performed at Hamburg, Weimar, Körner (Oratorio "Der andere Meridian" for soloists, chorus and instrument ensemble, collaborated with René Mense and Thorsten Kuhn, commissioned by 2nd Junge Kunst Festival 2002), Lüneburg ("A Species stands beyond – Invisible, as music–" for piano, performed by Thorsten Kuhn in 33. Studienwoche für zeitgenössische Musik Lüneburg 2011), Rügen, Katowice ("PETRA" for chamber orchestra commissioned by Szymon Bywalec/Orkiestrę Muzyki Nowej in 2015), Zakopane("un poco di raggio" for string quartet in 38th Karol Szymanowski Music Days Festival 2015) and Tokyo (Sonata for piano in 2015, Intermezzo for piano in 2018, performed byYusuke Sato).
About the music
In the Toru Takemitsu Composition award 2001, the judge Oliver Knussen said of "Stein /Stern for orchestra" by Ryuji Kubota:
"The precise and lean orchestration, the abstract and inventive compositional abilities are commendable."
Polish composer Eugeniusz Knapik said of "Stein/Stern II for orchestra" in 2012 :
"This music is written in a very original manner, expressed with an elaborate, almost Japanese sophistication. The piece also has room for a wide variety of contemporary timbres. The orchestra can explore the tonal possibilities of each instrument in this work. At the same time, this piece is a rigorous work, therefore it is difficult to perform."
Conductor Szymon Bywalec, a specialist in contemporary music, added:
"This piece is like seeing a new world, it is full of surprises. With this piece, I experienced first-hand the fact that different cultures have different ways of dealing with sound. The way the instruments are combined, the way the volume is balanced, the pauses, the way the percussion is used, the constant echoes of sound - just by listening to them, you can tell that this piece was written in a surprisingly specific way. The variety of expression can be seen in the characteristic percussion sounds, the wind solos, the composition of the harmonies, and the planning of the sound. I had the impression that Japanese culture was woven into the work. There is a famous Japanese performing art called Noh, and it seems to me that this kind of musical element is present in this work."
Kubota himself has expressed his respect for Western music, especially Robert Schumann, Maurice Ravel, and Henri Dutilleux. However, having studied Japanese literature at university, it is not surprising that his music contains Japanese elements.